


By The Books

by blom_erzi



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Highschool AU, Hinted Dennor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-24 13:41:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8374255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blom_erzi/pseuds/blom_erzi
Summary: With Emil new to America, everything is scary. But with the help of two brothers on the first day, the year couldn't be better. Hongice oneshot.Hetalia and it's characters belong respectfully to Hidekaz Himaruya.





	

"Erm, could you introduce yourself to the class?"

Emil felt his clammy hands tighten around his schedule. Introduce himself. _C'mon_ _, you could do that much, right Emil?_

"Uh... I... My name is Emil Stielsson. It's... Nice to meet you," He said rather shortly, looking over the heads of the students who he knew were staring - _gaping_ at his accent. With slightly panicked, brightly colored eyes, he turned to the teacher with a questioning look, trying not to feel the weight of forty or so eyes on him.

"Oh, yes, you can sit over there, by the back!" She said in a falsely cheery voice, the smile not exactly reaching her eyes. Trying not to cringe at her over-enthusiasm, he tried to regain his English, her manner causing any English he had to escape him. She pointed for good measure, as if he couldn't understand the words "back", or "sit". Throwing her a look his brother would nudge him for, he sat back to the empty seat in the back, trying not to let his scowl show as a kid in the front sniggered at him. How was he supposed to understand anything or get better if he was in the back, _alone_?

Fiddling with his notebook, he tried to write down whatever he heard - but soon, the notes started to make less and less sense.

_Your homework_ _tonite_ _._

That one made enough sense.

 _Four_ _part_ _sheet of_ _ekwations_.

He let a groan escape him. Not only was it a lot of work, but he did not think the word "ekwation" looked right.

 _I will read this one now, but_ _leeone_ _, if you do not stop talking_ -

He stopped there, cocking his head to the side in confusion. Itching his head, he wondered if writing whatever he heard out of boredom and for improvement was actually a good idea, or very ethical. Scratching his head with the tip of his pencil (and wincing), he looked down at the word _leeone_. That wasn't a word... No, no, that was a name, a strange one at that. Erasing the lowercase L, he changed it to _Leeone_.

Looking up from his paper, he looked up just in time to see the teacher point to the back once more, her expression no longer fake and cheery, but genuinely exasperated, as if she sent him to a new spot every day. The boy Leeone came bounding next to him in boots, a fashionable jacket, and jeans, and sat down with a mischievous smile on his face, a lollipop stick poking out of the edge of his mouth. Looking at Emil, his expression changed from meddling to interested, and he immediately took the candy out of his mouth.

"Hey... You just moved here, right?" He asked, his voice surprisingly deep for a scrawny boy. Emil tried not to flinch at it as he nodded wordlessly, never taking his eyes off his lollipop. This Leeone smiled at him, pink lips forming a perfect smile - such a pale, shiny pink that Emil silently wondered if he was wearing lip gloss.

 _Well, it looks good on him_.

"Sooo, where're you from?" He asked, a little too quickly for Emil's taste. Only catching the word 'from', he gave his careful answer.

"Oh, I come from Iceland," He answered, finally allowing himself to meet the boy's eyes. Almond shaped, and honey colored, outlined in red eyeliner that made them pop.  
They were the opposite of his large, blue eyes. Finding them squint almost shut, he realized the boy - Leeone, was smiling again. It was a cool smile, bordering a smirk, and it was one that instantly made Emil restrain to smile as well.

"Well, as you've just heard, I'm Leon. And woah, you're a Nordic. That's - that's rad," He said, holding out his hand for Emil to shake. Nodding at nothing, he shook the hand with a surprisingly firm grip compared to his own, but he instantly hardened it further, feeling Leeone doing the same, until they shook with the same powerful force. Leeone, he decided, would get along with him just fine. And seeing something flash in his eyes, he read them perfectly - exactly his own thoughts.

    Without warning, he reached over and grabbed his paper, letting his analytical eyes pass over the words written in careless handwriting. Emil felt his face instantly redden with the knowledge he wrote the boy's name down, in what he assumed was the American spelling. But knowing it was too late to grab it out of his - rather _perfect_ , frail looking hands, he watched with an expression of mingled humiliation and irritation.

"Hm. It's not 'ekwation', you spell it like _this_." Erasing it and rewriting it without asking, he pushed the paper over to Emil to see while he wrote, and Emil found himself surprisingly lean in to accept Leeone's help. He found he smelled like honey and let his eyes pass over his completely straight hair, but forced himself to search the paper once again. He tried not to flush at his own writing that read " _Leeone_ ".

"See? Like this. _Equation_ , e-q-u-a-t-i-o-n," He put his hands down, a perfectly manicured nail following the lines. Emil watched with a hitched breath as he passed over his own name, but he made no sign that he had seen it, or that it was wrong; instead, it went back to the top.

"Ah, another thing. It's not 'tonite', it's _tonight_. See, like this... T-o-n-i-g-h-t..."

Towards the end of the class, Leeone picked up Emil's schedule, further agitating Emil slightly.   
"Hm... We have English lit and music class together after this... second, fourth, and sixth..." He trailed off, setting the paper back on Emil's work as he pulled out another red lollipop.

Emil tapped him on the shoulder, beckoning him with a finger. "What about... What about _your_ schedule?" He asked patiently, looking around on Leeone's desk for anything of the sort. But he found Leeone was giving him that smirk again, and pulled something out from his lap.  
"I've already memorized mine," He said a bit devilishly, and setting it on Emil's desk, he saw his eyes widen.

Leeone had folded his schedule into a swan, and judging by the look the teacher threw him, it was a regular occurrence. Emil picked it up and gave it back to him, and after a moment, he opened his mouth to speak.  
"C... Can you teach me how to do it?"   
Some might've mistook the faltering in Emil's voice to be his lack of English - which could've been true - but both Leeone and Emil knew it to be awe.   
"Totally!"

By the time the bell had rung and marked the end of the second period, Emil and Leeone couldn't wait for period four. Not only did Emil learn a few new words (memorize, totally, and objectionable), but had been able to create a feeble, lopsided swan. Waving to Leeone, he felt slightly crestfallen that they didn't have third period together, while on the other hand, Leeone was only more excited for fourth to come. Watching him leave, he saw him immediately leave with the boy he had been separated with, one he could only assume was his brother. He caught a glimpse of his sleek hair and mischievous grin that must've ran in the family, and managed to catch a few words.   
"A _swan_? Please, I made a whale... Too bad, I didn't memorize my schedule, a right shame..."

Just about he was about to leave the classroom, the teacher called him with a slightly agitated voice, not being heard over the sea of students and tired of not being listened to all period.  
" _Emil_!"  
Looking stunned at her own tone, she coaxed her severe face into a smile, and without apologizing, she continued.   
"How was the class? Do you need help?" She asked very slowly, nodding at him. He shook his head in an equally slow manner, and with the politeness drilled into him by his brother, he spoke the best he could.

"Erm... A little fast, but is okay-"

"I'm sorry for that. Do you want me to move your seat?" She gave a nonsensical jerk of the head, as if he knew what she was talking about. At his perpetually confused glare which only hardened, she went on.   
"You know, Leon. He's a bit of a trouble maker, I-"

His face only hardened further. "Leeone? No, he helps me," He said, shaking his head, almost wanting to laugh a little at her suggestion. Where would she even move him? To another deserted corner, or to a rude student that would only grow tired of his questions?   
"He - He _helps_ you?" She looked genuinely in shock. The boy usually did not listen to anyone but his father or oldest brother, let alone _help_ another student...

And feeling as though he'd like the conversation to end, he walked dutifully out of the classroom, already cursing how late he'd be. Navigating through the school was nerve racking, but imagining his second period teacher's shocked face only made him feel a little lighter.

By the time the sixth (the final) period had come, Emil was very exhausted. He felt as if in an hour or two, once he had gotten home, he would do nothing but _sleep_ for hours on end. Stress from the concept of trying to follow words that made little to no sense had worn him out to no end - he was so tired and blank he could not even take his mind off of his headache to try and come up with a word for his sleepiness, Icelandic _or_ English.    
Dragging his feet to his final class, he found the knowledge of it being the last gave little reassurance. He wanted to leave now. Maybe if he didn't sleep right away, he'd cry. He wished they taught English in the schools he attended in Iceland. As similar as some of the words were, the rest tumbled around with similar sounds in his mind that could not find the strength to recognize the jumbled sounds that should _not_ go together in one fluid sound to form a _word_.

    Distracting himself in order to keep himself from crying at school, he stared at his schedule. Feeling the warmth slowly start to leave his eyes, he realized he would be seeing Leeone for his last class. Eating lunch with him had been fun - remembering how his brother had eaten with him, he remembered how he had been late to nearly every class due to his folded up schedule. If it weren't the first day, Emil knew the boy (Yong So, he had learned) would've gotten about six detentions. Yong So quickly became friends with Emil as well, and tried to invite him over to their house, which was big, from what Yong So had explained. With every ounce of politeness he had, he declined, thinking the tiredness around his eyes would've been an obvious indicator of the answer.

    Emil had discovered that their music teacher was not too fond of Leeone either. For this reasoning, it had not been from how disruptive he tended to be, but how cocky. As much as Emil _already_ didn't want to admit it, Leeone _was_ the best in the class, and Leeone seemed keen on reminding everyone of this constantly with the most charming smile he could muster. But from what he could tell, Leeone was not loud, or disruptive. It seemed his dislike for the teacher and the fact his brother had been put in his class had caused this.   
But realizing that Yong So was at least one year older than Leeone as he found a spot next to him in class, he questioned him about it.

    "Hm...? Oh! The reason he's in the math class for Juniors is because he failed the class last year, the idiot..."   
Emil found himself laughing at it. He cursed the bags under his eyes, almost wishing he didn't decline the offer to stay at their house for a little while. But finding the class was starting, he shut his mouth, as well as Leeone, as the bald teacher walked towards them.

"Are you Emil?" He asked loud and clearly over the class, handing Emil his own copy of the worksheet separate from the class. He nodded apprehensively, aware he had to listen to a lecture and answer questions. He had gone through the process all day, and all he hoped was that this teacher would be more patient with him than the others.

"Well, nice to meet you! Are you understanding the lesson alright?" He said good naturedly, a warm smile already enough to relax Emil a bit.   
Feeling Leeone's eyes on him, he tried to look as if he understood perfectly.  
 _No_.  
"Yes, I am..." He said, his voice strengthened by a false tone of confidence.

    The teacher smiled in response, and showing him some key points on the worksheet and scribbling a few notes on the margins (much to Emil's dismay), he stood, taking his pen with him.

But eyes catching Leeone's, he picked up the boy's paper, as if in a test to see if Leeone really _was_ of any help. Emil found a look of pleasant shock on his face, and tried desperately to hang on to their conversation.

"...My dear boy, this is phenomenal! Do you read his books often...? I'm a fan myself..."

"Yeah, I even act in some of his plays, you know...."

Nevertheless, at the end of the conversation, both Leeone and the teacher seemed a bit lighter than before.  
"Remember, I'm here if you need help, or Leon!"

At the end of the period, Emil was unpleasantly reminded of the fact Leon had been given detention.   
Waiting outside with Yong Soo, he said goodbye to Leon.

    "Woo, Kiku's gonna kill me," He said excitedly, rubbing his hands together as he read over his detention slip.

Emil knit his thick eyebrows together.  
"K... Kiku? Who?"  
Leeone chuckled.   
   "Oh, Kiku's my big brother, I have six siblings," He replied.   
Yong So laughed at this. "He's big big big brother."

At this, Leeone nodded. "Biggest brother."

Yong So nodded as he offered his input on the subject.  
"If we get into trouble, biggest brother hears about it. He knows."

Emil rather liked these odd names.   
Yong So. Leeone. And now, Kiku. Keeku? Or was it Keekoo? In English, it could be any.

    Sitting with Yong So for a half an hour, he had his ear talked off; He didn't think it mattered to Yong So whether he understood it or not, and he decided he loved that about him.

From what Emil could remember, they had a sister called May, who was the second youngest. Emil only had one brother; he did not know whether he would like five more.

    "Hm. I have one brother, Lukas. It sound fun to have more," He said thoughtfully, not caring to evaluate his words better. If only Lukas had put him through a school that taught English. Maybe if they lived in Reykjavik, Emil would be experienced.

     
    "What?! For real? That must be boring. But then again, it is a lot more peaceful when Mei isn't around."

    As Leon walked out, he immediately asked again if Emil would like to come over for a small amount of time. For homework, he insisted.   
And with a sigh, not able to put down such a tempting offer, he begrudgingly pulled out his phone.

    Sighing in relief, his brother answered, and his voice sounded like music in Emil's ears; something he could understand!  
"Um, hey, Lukas. I made friends today, and-"  
He heard his brother set down a glass heavily.   
"Friends? You've made friends? Finally. No you don't have to be cooped up in your room all day, doing God knows what." He laughed.

Emil chose swiftly to ignore that last comment. "Yes, I've made friends. Can I go to their house? It's for homework," he stated very matter of factly.  
The brothers were staring in awe at such a foreign language, and Yong So could not help but wave stupidly as he caught Emil's eye. Leon punched his arm at this and the two began to good naturedly brawl with one another, not bothering to keep their voices down.

    Lukas took less than a moment to consider; he really was very happy Emil had made friends, on the first day, too.   
"Well, yes. But text me the address when you get there. If you feel uncomfortable, leave. Don't eat anything you don't trust. Also, d-"

    Emil rolled his eyes. "Yes, Lukas, I know. Thank you. I'll see you this evening. Love you." Without waiting for his answer, he hung up shortly, too focused on the people in front of him.

    Leon took him by the arm. "Ready to go?"   
Emil nodded impatiently. "Já, auðvitað. No, I mean, of course," He answered in embarrassment. He was already so thankful from hearing Lukas' Icelandic he had completely forgotten his English for a moment. Shaking his head, he secretly enjoyed the arm around his, make no mistake.

     Deciding not to ruin the good mood, he let himself be touched by him for today. The boy was soft and up close, he smelt like candy. If it weren't so hot, the blush would have been apparent on his face.

    Sitting in the back seat with Leeone, he watched Yong So speak with the same rate and excitement as he drove, somehow still a very cautious driver at once. He would randomly stop speaking in the middle of his sentences and leave them hanging for minutes at a time, concentrating on the busy street ahead of him.

    Rudely dropping their bags by the entrance, Yong So announced their arrival.   
"Dad! We're home!" He shouted, kicking off his shoes. Seeing Leeone do the same, he hastily followed suit, neatly removing his dress shoes, setting them by Leeone and Yong So's sneakers, trying to at least make an effort.  
He gagged at the sight; Damn Lukas and wanting Emil to look his best today.

A man much shorter than Yong So and Emil showed.   
"Ah, 欢迎您，孩子! And who is this?"

Emil blinked at him in confusion, trying his hardest not to feel stupid; so many languages in one day.

Looking over Yong So's head (as he must've been an inch or two taller than him), he looked over the house. Fish tanks, neatly framed photographs of children, and a baby grand piano... There also seemed to be many plants that seemed very well cared for, not well kept; a well kept plant was only mediocre, only really surviving. These plants were obviously taken care of and were _thriving_.    
And the house was indeed very large.  
Not only this, but with seven children in the house, it was very clean.  
The walls were painted a nice shade of green that reminded Emil of the lush grass back at his home; but with a pang, realized it was no longer his home, but belonged to a family of five, now. His home was now in America.  
He suddenly felt very drawn to this home and repulsed at once; his thoughts were racing at once as he didn't realize he was being spoken to. Yes, he had made two friends, _really_ liked one of them, but... In America. How was he supposed to stay in such a place?

    He stared blankly at the expectant, smiley man in front of him; why so short? Why so smiley?   
"Um - Excuse me?" He asked, feeling the heat spread to his face. Cursing his extremely pale skin, he knew his face probably shown pale red.   
Listen better, Emil!

    Yong So laughed. "Not so fast, old man! Take it slow."  
The man his his son in the arm for speaking to him in such a way.

    "Be quiet, 长舌. I'm sorry, child. Now, what is your name?" He asked at a comfortable pace. Emil smiled at this.

    "Ah, I'm called Emil. I come from Iceland," He said manually, sounding as if he read from a book. He was so used to being asked these questions all day, he couldn't help but explain these facts even if they were not asked for.

    "Oh! Amazing. All the way from there? We are both foreigners, then," He said airily, resuming to attention to the shortest person in the room.

Emil stared in surprise at him while he scolded and adjusted the clothes of Leeone. This man did not sound anything like a foreigner. But, it gave him a light of hope; hopefully someday soon, he would be able to have no accent. He would be able to match the flat sounds of the English language.

    Finally finished with bickering with Leeone, he smiled at Emil, taking his hand unexpectedly. Emil was once again surprised, for he now knew where Leeone got his firm grip from, and he knew why Yong So was overly enthusiastic shaking his hand - he nearly broke Emil's arm doing it.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Emil from Iceland. I'm Yao. You'd all better get started on your homework - I'm making food."  
And with that, he walked towards his kitchen, _his_ kitchen, picking up his knife as if he never set it down.

    As they walked up the stairs, Emil tapped Yong So on the shoulder.   
"What did he call you, back there?"

Yong So laughed and pulled out his phone. "Here, I'll translate it to Norweg- Icelandic."

    "Here - Chángshé. It's... Well, this is it." He handed his phone to Emil, who chuckled as he read _blabber_ _munni_.

"Blabber munni? Já, that's you," He laughed, feeling Yong So's elbow on his arm.

    Leeone opened the door to his room, turning to Yong So and pointing an accusing finger to his chest, perfectly manicured nail (that seemed as glossed and pink as his lips) pressing into his shirt.

    "Okay Yong Soo, we actually have to help him with homework, not, like, play videogames," He said in a serious tone. "Alright, _blabber_ _munni_?"

"Yeah, yeah, alright, mother! Smitten much?"   
Emil could not help but laugh at Yong So, and Leeone's poor imitation of Icelandic. Emil did not know the word smitten yet. But little did he know, he was experiencing the feeling. He had known a boy (a very cool one, at that) for one day and he already felt as though he was developing a borderline crush on him. _Oh_ _,_ _Lord_ _help_ _my_ _soul_ , he thought.  
Well, at least he had an advantage; it wasn't difficult to tell Leeone was not exactly straight.

As Yong So messed up Leeone's hair, they began to brawl noisily again. Emil did not know whether to giggle or roll his eyes at this - Leeone seemed very touchy about his appearance.

    "Hey, you two, stop it!"   
This time, Emil really did chuckle at the sound of Yao's chastising from downstairs.

   Pulling out their book that was handed out in English, Emil immediately recognized the author.

"Oh, Shakespeare! I was not paying attention," He said vaguely, not remembering seeing this in class. At this, Leeone looked unusually happy.

"Shakespeare! Yes! You know him? I love him!" He exclaimed loudly, ignoring Yong So's laugh. Needless to say, he was very excited.

He sprung up and stood on the bed, upturning the book in a flurry. He immediately adopted a believable look of mighty indifference, and a cold smile so real it surprised Emil how quickly his voice and expression changed direction.  
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage-"

Yong So snickered imploringly.   
"Tch. He loves theatre too much, that one."

Leeone continued as if he had not heard anything.   
"-and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

    Immediately another dark haired head popped in the doorway, pale and tired. It was not Leeone's type of pale, that seemed attractive and maintained, or Emil's natural, sensitive kind of pale; it seemed to be a sickly, kept-indoors kind of pale. He could tell this boy could be tan if he only stepped outside.

"Leon! Stop! Last time I checked, you don't have a play coming up. I'm trying to study! Oh. Hello."  
He went from scolding his brother with his deep voice to greeting a very out of place, very light haired boy.

He heard Yong So mutter something.  
"Dammit. It's biggest brother."

A spark of recognition registered within Emil. " _If_ _we_ _get_ _in_ _trouble_ _,_ _biggest_ _brother_ _hears_ _about_ _it_ _._ _He_ _knows_."

"Oh! Hello, Kiku."

    Kiku waved slovenly.   
"Okay, but please, keep it down? Or I'll tell dad you got detention. On the first day."   
He did not seem smug or even remotely malicious as he said this; he stated it in a very straight forward, matter of fact kind of manner with an air of superiority.

    Leeone jumped down next to Emil, causing their pencils to jump and drop to the floor.   
"Oh, I'm sorry, college boy. Maybe if you, like, moved out with your _boyfriend_ you wouldn't have to hear me," Leeone smugly stated.

    Emil noticed Kiku's face pinkened a bit, but he kept his composure.   
"Alfred isn't my boyfriend. And re-"

    Yong So threw a pillow at his face, narrowly missing it. It hit the wall and fell to the floor dejectedly.   
"What a shame!" Yong So muttered.

"Yes, a pity." Kiku agreed tersely.   
He left with a last 'Quiet down!' and shut his door softly right next to theirs.

    Yong So cocked his head to the side.  
"You know, I almost feel bad about making fun of him for that just now," He stated plainly. But shrugging, he grabbed the fallen pencils, handing one to Emil.

"Damn, Le. You should try to smoothen out that landing." 

Leeone threw him a look.   
"It's _smooth_ , not 'smoothen,' idiot. C'mon, we're trying to help with English. Do it by the books, eh?"

    Barely any work was done, as Leeone had taken to preforming a scene of A Midsummer Night's Dream  he had preformed the previous year (as Hermia).    
Yong So was surprisingly quiet at this time.   
He shook his head. "Damn. You've got to admit, Emil. The kid's got talent."

Emil nodded as he kept watching, not bothering to face Yong So to do it.   
Yong So turned his attention to Emil's focused face. Focused on Leeone. He nudged him to get his attention.

"Yeah, he's also an idiot. An idiot that _already_ adores you. Give him a chance, yeah?"   
Emil nodded at this, not knowing how his expression looked. But it must've been serious, as Yong So chuckled.   
"Haha, don't have to be so serious, my friend."   
But Emil was still registering his statement in his head. Adore. What did that mean? He had heard the term 'adoration' and could only guess they meant the same thing.

    "Hey, Yong So. What is adoration?"   
Yong So looked at Leeone in thought.

"Well... To adore something. Like, in the way Leeone adores Shakespeare, or lollipops. Well, and those," He jerked his thumb to the desk they sat near, and Emil saw rows and rows of what appeared to be nail polish. Looking at the desk further, there were many books, lip glosses, and many origami animals and flowers.

    Emil giggled as he saw them. And... To adore? He thought of Leeone seeing him in the same way Emil adored the snow.   
He could not help but smile at this, to which Yong So whistled.   
Yep, he'd be seeing Emil around often.

    The were shaken out of their thoughts as Leeone stopped talking to nag at them.  
"Stop talking, will you? I'm, like, trying to impress you guys!"

    Just before he could finish, they could all hear Yao's carrying voice, informing them all of food. Not eating his lunch out of sheer nervousness, Emil stood immediately. He was so hungry he felt as if he could vomit.

Leeone stayed back. "Wait! Wait for me. I don't want to eat in my school clothes."  
Emil caught a glimpse of the kind of clothes Leeone had in his closet.  
Fancy outfits that looked expensive, costumes (Emil assumed it was for preforming), and finally, some dresses.   
Emil chuckled at this.  
 _How_ _odd_.

    As the three stepped outside of the room and into the hallway, Emil heard the sound of the eighteen year old stepping out of his own too, who immediately took Leeone's arm.

They were behind Emil, but he could make out a quiet conversation.

"Well, guess what, Leon. I asked him out. And he said yes." This time, Emil could hear a hint of the smugness that seemed to be absent before. But it also sounded relieved. Emil found it funny he said 'Guess what', followed by the answer.  
This kid was really bland and straight forward.   
Emil was surprised to hear Leeone's answer, a sweeter edge to his voice.  
"Wow, I'm happy for you." He answered genuinely.

    Emil made his way down the stairs next to Yong So, the back of his head being unknowingly watched by Leeone.

Noodles. They were eating noodles. No one knew it yet, but noodles happened to be Emil's favourite food.

Eating with a fork, he felt a bit left out. But as Leeone sat by his side, he grabbed a fork as well.  
"Don't worry, I don't know how to, either."   
    Emil's face must have looked as if he flatly didn't believe him, for Leeone grabbed the chopsticks out of Yong So's hand mid bite, and struggled to hold them.  
"See?"   
Emil couldn't help smiling at the moment.

Taking a bite, he couldn't help eating like a wild animal. No food for hours, hours of learning, and his favourite food. What else could he have done?

    "Can you pass me the bowl, love?" Yao asked casually. Kiku complied and passed over the bowl containing the noodles.   
Yong So snorted at this.  
"Oh, he gets 'love', I get 长舌." He teased.

Yao rolled his eyes, kissing Yong So on the cheek.   
"Oh, you know I love you so much, Yong Soo," He replied in a cloy voice.

Kiku kissed his other cheek as well.  
"I love you just the same, brother," He said, his saccharine tone making Leeone snicker.

Yong So went red and struggled.   
"No, don't do that!"   
Everyone laughed, as everyone knew Yong So hated receiving affection in front of friends.  
Now, Emil wasn't the only one eating fast.

    As they went back to actually studying and the day wore on, Emil realized he would soon have to return to his house. He could not yet call it home, but it would have to do. For now.   
At least Lukas was there. For now, that was all he cared to call home. That, and a picture of Mathias taken by none other than Emil himself, on their trip to the black lagoon. Lukas, and a picture of a man still in his home country. That was home.

    Gathering his stuff together, he picked up his copy of Romeo and Juliet last. Emil had heard Leeone recite scenes from Macbeth, watched him act a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream, and heard him talk all afternoon on countless others. Has he acted in Romeo and Juliet? Did he play Juliet, or Romeo? Emil knew Leeone was good enough to be either.

    Leeone walked him out the door, and handed him a lollipop.   
"See you tomorrow. But before you go, how about a kiss on the cheek?"

Emil felt his chest start to buzz with nervousness. He only had one immediate thought.  
 _Play_ _dumb_ _._  
"Um, a what on the cheek?"   
_The_ _nerve_ _of_ _him_ , they both thought.

Leeone stood on the tips of his toes, leaned over and gave Emil a very fleeting peck on one of his pale cheeks, stepping a foot away immediately. Yes, Leon's actions might have been bold, but he was now as red as the skirt he was wearing.   
Emil noticed this, and registered he had been wearing it at the dinner table the whole time.  
 _How_ _odd_ , the thought. He shrugged nonetheless.

Emil smiled sheepishly: he was positive Leeone was the only person he knew who would ask for such a thing so early on. Well, he couldn't deny he enjoyed it. Even if it _was_ two seconds long.

Emil shook his head, and said nothing as he walked away, hoping he was walking in the right direction; he would hate to get lost.

    Leeone called out after him, his tone desperately hopeful. "There's more where that came from, if you like!"

He shook his head with a smile on his face.  
 _What_ _a_ _dork_ _._  
 _An_ _extremely_ _attractive_ _dork_ _._

    Emil smiled and turned as he realized Leeone was running towards him.  
Finally standing in front of Emil, he had his hands on his knees as he gasped for air.  
"By the way, you nerd... It's _Leon_. L-E-O-N. Not Lee-one. "

The smile was wiped off his face and was replaced with mixed horror, indignation, and embarrassment. He allowed a small, begrudging smile to make its way onto his lips as _Leon_ laughed at him.  
Turning away and walking home, he shook his head, and felt a glossy area on his cheek; he let it be, not having the heart to wipe it off.  
 _Oh_ _,_ _the_ _nerve_ _of_ _that_ _boy_ _!_

**Author's Note:**

> I was bored and in dire need of (lame teenage) Hongice  
> And no  
> Leon isn't genderfluid   
> He just enjoys these things   
> But anyways, as always, enjoy
> 
> edit: 长舌 means "chatterbox" and 欢迎您，孩子! means "welcome, children!"


End file.
